Regardless
how old you are now, it’s likely you’ll have a harder time
pulling off a financially secure retirement than your parents did.

Many
of us haven’t planned and saved well, it’s true. But, also,
fundamental changes in American life make it harder for today’s
generations to achieve a comfortable life after work.

Keep
reading to learn eight ways retirement is harder now and eight things
you can do to rescue your retirement.

Eight
ways retirement is harder now

1.
We’re living longer

The number of
Americans 90 and older is expected to quadruple in the next four
decades, says the U.S. Census Bureau.

In
1935, a 65-year-old would live on average another 12
years. Today, the Social Security Administration says, the
average man at 65 can expect to live another 17 1/2 years.
The average woman will get 20 more years.

Living
for 20 years without working takes much more money than
getting by for 12 years. If members of your family lived long lives,
plan for the chance your retirement savings will
need to stretch 30 years or more.

2.
Seniors can’t shake the recession

The
Great Recession robbed more earning power from men and women in
their 60s and late 50s than from any other group, The New York
Times reports.

Home
values and investment savings also plummeted, affecting people of all
ages. Seniors have less time to make up those losses.

Many
older workers lost jobs in the recession, or their jobs have
shrunk.

Workers
near retirement have low unemployment rates, the Times says,
“but once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time
finding another one.”

3.
Private pensions are nearly extinct

In
1981, large employers covered between 80 and 90 percent of their
full-time workers with pensions, guaranteeing retirees and their
spouses a fixed monthly payment for life.

Those
plans, so common 30 years ago, are a pipe dream now.

The
Bureau of Labor Statistics says that in 2011 just 1 in
10 large employers offered fixed benefit plans and only 18
percent of private industry employees were covered.

Now,
if we’re lucky, we have 401(k) plans that workers, not
investment experts, have to manage. Some employers match a portion of
workers’ contributions, others don’t.

For
example, Facebook, worth an estimated $200 billion, made
no matching contributions for employees in 2012 or 2013,
but is this year.

Bloomberg
wrote: Employers are squeezing their workers’ retirement savings,
holding back on both the amount and the timing of 401(k) matching
funds and dragging out vesting schedules. Taken together,
these measures are making it more difficult to save for old age.

4.
Social Security is still under pressure

The
Social Security Trust Fund reserves are expected to run out in 2034,
according to a new report from the Social Security
Administration.

After
that, payments for beneficiaries, which are funded primarily by a
payroll tax, would have to be cut overall by 23 % unless
Congress acts.

But
it wouldn’t take a lot of tinkering to keep benefits intact, Motley
Fool contributor Dan Caplinger observed.

5.
Interest rates are low

Retirees
in previous generations earned higher interest on savings and
low-risk investments. Today’s retirees must take risks in
search of income or endure historically low fixed-income returns.

Income
from interest, dividends and rent fell from 24 % of total
income in 1990 to 11 % in 2012 for people older than 65, mostly
because of falling interest rates, says AARP.

6.
Seniors have more debt

Our
parents’ generations tried to enter retirement with a paid-off home
and no debts. That’s harder to do today.

Americans’ average
age at retirement is creeping up, to 62 this year, according to
Gallup. It’s the highest since Gallup began asking the question in
1991, when the average retirement age was 57.

Workers
on average tell Gallup that they expect to retire at 66. But
poor health, job loss and the need to care for older parents,
grandchildren and ill spouses can cut that short.

8.
More seniors are single

Divorce
is rising among older Americans, and women tend to outlive their
husbands. As a result, reports The Fiscal Times, a third of
the record 32.7 million Americans who live alone are older than
65.

Many
find freedom in being single, but it costs more for a single
person to support a household than to share overhead.

For
nearly three-quarters of single Social Security recipients 65
and older, their benefit checks are most or all of
their income, according to the National Council on Aging.

Eight
tips for a better retirement

How
can you counter these headwinds?

Here
are some ways to take care of yourself:

1.
Get out of debt

One
of the hardest things about debt is that it feels so overwhelming.

The
ugly reality can feel too scary to face.

The
thing about reality, though: It doesn’t go away.

You probably
already know that delaying the inevitable only piles on more
trouble. Better just to take on your debt and get through it.

2.
Be strategic about claiming Social Security

Most
people claim their Social Security benefits 62, as soon as they
can. But with that approach, you’re likely to lose money you’ll
need when you’re older.

You
get a reduced benefit when you claim early.

For
example, if your full retirement age is 66, the Social Security
Administration says, your reduction in benefits is:

25
percent at age 62.

About
20 percent at 63.

About
13.3 percent at 64.

About
6.7 percent at age 65.

3. Find
a trusted financial adviser

A
fee-only certified financial planner who is recommended to you by
someone you know can help you plan for retirement and make the most
of your resources in ways you might not have anticipated.

Take
time to find someone really superb.

4.
Keep retirement savings off-limits

Shun
the temptation to borrow from your retirement savings. Don’t do it
for any reason, not even to pay off debt.

5.
Let the kids fend for themselves

Unemployment
and low wages have made it hard for many young adults to launch
their independent lives, and many families are getting through tough
times by living together. But a 2011 survey by the
National Foundation for Financial Education and Forbes found
that almost 60 percent of American parents were giving adult
children financial support for housing, transportation,
medical care, insurance, spending money and other expenses.

This
help, in some situations, may be undermining adult children’s
ability to become independent. It also may be dooming parents’
retirement.

The
kids have more time than you do to make up financial losses. Put
retirement savings ahead of paying for college.

Decide
what children truly need, set limits and make a loving, firm plan for
weaning them from the bank of Mom and Dad while giving wholehearted
support in nonfinancial ways.

6.
Save more

Follow
the basic rules for retirement savings, including minimizing
taxes, working longer, investing regularly and keeping on top of your
investments. Boost savings by every penny you can. Keep
increasing 401(k) contributions to meet your retirement goal.

Don’t
have a goal? Use several retirement calculators to decide how much
you’ll need and what to save to get there.

Here
are three calculators:

Bloomberg
retirement calculator.

AARP
retirement calculator.

FINRA
retirement calculator.

7.
Don’t touch home equity

If
your retirement is looking shaky, don’t even consider using home
equity for nonessentials like remodeling.

Treat
it like an emergency fund, MSN Money says:

Delay
tapping it as long as possible. You’ll need it in your 80s or
90s for surprises like home repairs, escalating heating fuel
costs, medical bills or hiring in-home help.

8.
Look ahead

Don’t
wait until you’re in trouble to take action.

If
you’re struggling now, even if you want badly to stay in your home,
for example, start right away to figure out a fallback plan if you
cannot.

Pride
can prevent you from taking needed action when you’re in trouble.
Don’t spend retirement savings or home equity trying to repay
unmanageable debt.